How Racing Helped Me Discover Who I Am

Turning around the sharp corner and onto the straightway, the car next to me, number 32, inched closer and closer to the inside of the track, forcing me to move to the outside. While trying to speed up my pace around the next curve, my car’s front tires began to skid, the back tires started to slide, and before I knew it I was spinning out of control.

During that first spin, all I could think about was finishing the race. Before I lost control, I had been in second place and nothing could have stopped me from cruising my way up to that first place position. That one car ahead of me, number 32, was nowhere near as fast as my brand new stock car. All during that first spin, I imagined myself standing up on the first place pedestal giving my winner’s speech and receiving my trophy. Everything was in slow motion, and although I should have been worrying about the effects of the spin out, I wasn’t; I was worried about the ten cars that were passing me every couple seconds and what I could do to get back to my place in the front. Trying to steer my way back into control of my car, I only made it worse; I hit the wall with force and at that moment, I knew I was not going to win the race.

My brand new, freshly painted car was totaled and there was nothing I could do about it. Don’t think I wasn’t scared at the time, I most definitely was, but my passion for racing overcame my fear. The rush of being in that car and going 110 miles per hour is the most amazing feeling for me and I could not imagine spending my Friday nights in the summer time doing anything else besides racing.

I know that I am not the best racer, but I know that I will get better and learn from my mistakes throughout every race. Racing is my passion. Without racing, I would have nothing to strive for, and I believe having that dream throughout my life of winning a race has helped me prosper in other aspects of my life as well. If I did not have that drive to win a race since I was in eighth grade, I would never have learned how important it is to strive for something important to me. My passion has helped me discover who I truly am, and shown me how important it is to have a goal and a dream. Whether or not I achieve this one, I will always have a goal in mind and strive to achieve it.